Dell Computer is embarking on one of the biggest recruitment drives in the State's history, seeking 3,000 new employees for its plants in Limerick and, to a lesser extent, Bray, Co Wicklow, over the next three years.
The £180 million investment, which was officially announced yesterday, will involve the US multinational seeking workers from all over the mid-West region, as the bulk of the new jobs will be in Limerick.
The Dell expansion will test the Government's commitment to provide an adequate supply of skilled employees for computer multinationals. The Tanaiste, Ms Harney, said that the new £250 million education technology investment fund would ensure the supply of skilled staff. Slightly more than half of the jobs will be for university and Post-Leaving Certificate course graduates, with the rest for those with secondlevel qualifications.
The company's announcement was the largest job creation investment in the history of State, involving 2,600 jobs in its manufacturing plant in Limerick and 400 in its sales and technical support centre in Bray.
And Dell expects to expand even further in the Republic in the years ahead. According to sources, it is likely that the company will exceed its 3,000 jobs target, as its European market share grows by 45 per cent annually.
Mr Reginald Freake, a senior executive at the Dell plant in Limerick, said he envisaged the company would "be expanding again in the next two to three years because our order books are continuing to grow so fast".
He added that the new, and planned, facilities in Limerick and Bray will "only be enough for about two years or so".
The £180 million investment involves the takeover of the 340,000 sq. ft. AST facility at Plassey Technological Park, Limerick, where over 430 people currently work.
The future of the AST jobs depend on a worldwide review being carried out by AST's Korean parent company, Samsung, due to conclude at the end of the month.
Recruitment at the new Dell plant in Limerick has begun and the IDA says that significant numbers of AST and Seagate workers have already applied for jobs there.
Apart from the acquisition and the refurbishment of the AST site, the Dell investment includes purchasing the complete site of their sales and customer centre in Bray and developing a new site near the existing 300,000 sq.ft. plant at Raheen in Limerick.
Ms Harney rejected suggestions that it was dangerous to concentrate such a large number of jobs in one location, in the light of the closure announcement by Seagate.
"Unlike Seagate, Dell's labour costs are 5 per cent of their total turnover, whereas Seagate's were 20 per cent, so once things went bad for them, that was it," she said.
The president of Dell Europe, Mr Jan Gesmar-Larsen said the quality of the Republic's road network and its telecommunications network were key attractions. He said the immediate future of Dell was good, as the crisis in Asia means components are cheaper to source and this is being passed on to the consumer.
See also pages 3 and 12, Editorial Comment: page 17 main paper
